Decision 2016: Agricultural Issues

Written by Jackie Klippenstein

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As the election nears, understanding the candidates’ views on issues critical to the growth of the dairy industry is important. Some issues have been very well discussed in the public forum, like both candidates’ current opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, while others are less known. During the campaign season, different associations and media outlets have asked candidates’ their views on issues. The following are excerpts from their responses on the issues the Cooperative tracks on your behalf. Some of these responses are made on behalf of the candidate, by their campaign.

Regulatory reform

Trump response: “Our nation's regulatory system is completely broken. As president, I will work with Congress to reform our regulatory system. We will reduce the power of government bureaucrats, and increase the freedom of our nation's farmers to be as productive as possible. We will increase transparency and accountability in the regulatory process. Rational cost-benefit tests will be used to ensure that any regulation is justified before it is adopted. Unjustified regulations that are bad for American farmers and consumers will be changed or repealed. There will be no more ‘sue and settle’ deals with extreme environmentalists."

Clinton response: "Hillary is committed to operating the U.S. government in as open and transparent a way as possible. She will continue and expand the open-government initiatives started by the current administration and will direct federal agencies to increase the amount of information they voluntarily disclose online. As president, she will always engage a wide range of stakeholders, including farmers and ranchers, to hear their concerns and ideas for how we can ensure our agriculture sector remains vibrant. If there are implementation challenges with a particular regulation, Hillary will work with all stakeholders to address them."

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation Candidate survey

Minimum wage

Trump response: “I support a $10 federal minimum and letting states raising it beyond that floor.”

Source: July 2016 Trump Press Conference

Clinton response: “I want to raise the federal minimum wage to $12, and encourage other communities to go even higher.”

Source: www.hillaryclinton.com

Farm Bill

Trump response: "The Trump-Pence Administration will be an active participant in writing the next Farm Bill and delivering it on time! Our farmers deserve a good Farm Bill written by those who are thankful for our remarkable food system in this country. I support a strong safety net for our nation's farmers.”

Clinton response: "The Farm Bill's reauthorization presents an incredibly important opportunity to set both our agricultural and rural development policy priorities, which are central to our economy, energy and food security.
“That's why [Clinton] will work to ensure we provide a focused safety net for farmers and ranchers by continuing to make progress in targeting federal resources in commodity payment, crop insurance, and disaster assistance programs, which is all the more important with current commodity market prices.”